Phanfiction
Phanfiction 101 Phanfiction is the written expression of "shipping." If you don't know what shipping is then, RUN. RUN AND NEVER GET INVOLVED IN THIS.(SERIOUSLY) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c61d72fpa4c) Phanfiction, specifying the phan is stories written about YouTubers Dan Howell (danisnotonfire) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil). People will write stories of them in romantic settings, as "friends with benefits", boyfriends, husbands, etc. When people enjoy the idea of two certain people being in a relationship, some will write stories about it. No big deal. A list of key terms that will be used in this article (dictionary definitions): ' '''Fanfic: '''Short for fanfiction. Unlike fanfiction, the word fanfic (also just 'fic') is a single noun (pluralized as 'fanfics'). A story written by a fan of a particular fandom (movie, book, TV show, video game, etc.), about the characters and world in that series, usually without the original creator's permission. By the very nature of fanfiction, there are a lot of really terrible fanfics out there. But when you find a good one - it's great! '''Ship/Shipping: '''A term used to describe fan fictions that take previously created characters and put them as a pair. It usually refers to romantic relationships, but it can refer to platonic ones as well. (Just think of "shipping" as short for "relationSHIP".) It generally uses the initials of the characters shipped or a combination of the names, though this is not a rule. '''OTP: '''One True Pairing. Meaning the your favorite combination of characters in a fandom. ''Dan and Phil are /so/ OTP. '''Canon: '''Another word for official. Used quite often in fanfiction to differentiate between the official story-line in which the fan fiction is based on. "This fan fiction story is actually pretty close to being canon written by the original author." There are many different types of phanfictions - different genres, formats, and so on. Some websites have been made specifically for phanfiction writers, or rather, some websites have been overtaken by phanfiction writers. People have been made practically famous for writing phanfiction, their stories getting millions of reads and popularity. These stories become more popular as the internet becomes more prevalent. A lot more people are understanding the idea of writing 'a story about a story'. There are some basic Do's and Don'ts of phanfiction. And phanfictions seem to have their own subculture. With inside jokes and backstories and history. Just because they're made, doesn't mean they are meaningless. '''Basic Do's and Don'ts Of Phanfiction: Don'ts: *Some people don't like when Dan's brother is mentioned. Dan has talked before about how he doesn't like people talking about his brother without his permission. *Back in late 2011 a video got released of Phil 'declaring his love for Dan'. The video was not meant to be public yet once people got a hold of it they posted it everywhere. There is still speculation if the video was indeed a prank as Dan and Phil claimed, or if it's real. Both Dan and Phil dislike people talking about the video so please respect their privacy and don't mention "The V Day Vid" (The Valentines Day Video) *Do not, under any circumstances, ''mention cherries, chairs, hamsters, hats, or skin in a comments section. War flashbacks for some phandom members will occur. * If someone makes a grammatical error, do not 'call them out on it' or hate on them. It's rude. If you don't enjoy someone writing, you don't have to be a jerk. You could just ''not read it. Do's: ''' *If you read and enjoy a story,comment nice things, like or vote (may vary with different websites), or message someone saying you like their story. Phanfiction writing is a community of people and we should all appreciate each others' talents. *If you are writing an angst story (see later in article for explanation) and your story involves triggers, put trigger warnings before the story. Preferably at the beginning. People deserve to know if they might read something triggering and could put themselves in danger. *If you write a story about Dan and Phil, don't tag it with unrelated things. It makes it annoying for everyone reading fanfiction if you're scrolling through a tag for Attack On Titan and see a phanfiction. Keep the related phanfictions in the correct place. *Don't promote your own story unless asked. I have seen too many times people going to very popular stories and spamming "Check out my story1!!11!!" Have some consideration. *If it's Phanfiction, don't, I repeat DON'T, say you're crying, you are meant to craft '''Genres of Phanfiction There are three main genres I am aware of, angst (mentioned earlier), fluff and smut. They all have their own little niches and rules among themselves but here's a general explanation: 'Angst:' A somewhat darker side of phanfiction. These stories are the ones with problems and conflicts. Typical things seen in angsty phanfiction are the topics of homophobia, mental illnesses, disorders, violence, sexual assault, etc. That's the reason why phanfiction authors should often tell their readers ahead of time if there is any triggering material. Also, it's important to remember while writing angst including topics like self harm, and suicide to not seem like they are romanticizing it. It isn't a desirable thing and writers need to be careful and write it accordingly so. 'Fluff:' The exact opposite of angst. Fluff is the purest of phanfiction. The embodiment of cuddles and forehead kisses. Fluff is for when you want to just smile and giggle and be happy. Fluff is mostly considered 'safe' phanfiction. Not including any triggering topics and is just sweet. 'Smut:' *Brings out holy water* Smut is the phrase used when someone writes sexual phanfiction. I have nothing to say about this as I have never read it but, yeah. You've also got to put a smut warning before you write any smut. There are innocent beans out there. Edit: There are multiple types of smut that are tailored to certain kinks. Examples of different categories include : bdsm, daddy kink, and many more. Types of Phanfiction There are different ways writers write phanfiction. Some authors choose to write full length novels with large chapters. Some write shorter stories like one shots, or even headcannons and drabbles. It just depends one a person's writing style. 'Regular/ Novel Format:' Novel format is when the author writes long chapters and updates regularly. When a writer updates, they will release the next part of their story for the public to read. These are particularly popular with plot lines with conflicts and issues. 'One Shots:' One Shots are different than drabbles, and different than regular phanfictions. One shots are typically shorter, but don't always have to be. Some can be a little long than most but an average length is about 10-30 pages (on a phone screenyou have pages selected) 'Headcanons:' Headcanons are made by people coming up with their own ideas in a universe of a book, movie, show, etc. Yet the idea has not become canon (see top for definition) so it is just a headcanon. Where you believe it is true yet it's actual status is unknown. 'Drabble:' Drabbles are usually the shortest forms of fanfiction. Having mostly no plot or direction, mostly written to prove a point or show a specific point of view. Places To Write/Read Phanfiction There are many websites that give people the ability to post phanfiction, but some websites have been made specifically for fanfiction stories. I will include the links to all of the websites listed. AO3 (Archive Of Our Own): This website has amazing stories for all fandoms and the writing quality is 11/10 https://archiveofourown.org/ Fanfiction.net: This website is hard to navigate sometimes, but has good stores https://www.fanfiction.net/ Wattpad: Wattpad has the ability to have covers for phanfiction and make edits to display the story. It isn't initially just a fanfiction website but a lot of the stories are in fandom culture. This website/app also has the function of saving stories to your libraries and you can be notified if they are updated. https://www.wattpad.com/home Tell me if I missed anything! Hope you enjoyed the how-to guide to phanfiction. Most of the things in this article could be applied to all fanfics too. I happen to have an account on Wattpad where I write phan one shots. Hope you liked the article. https://www.wattpad.com/user/phanasfluck Category:Phan Category:Phanfiction